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When rice is prepared, the water used in cooking tends to just spill out. Did you know that this is a waste and that you can use that water for many things, including taking care of your plants? The benefits of rice water for plants They are no myth, in addition to being an exceptional way to make better use of both water and food, thus helping to give a little more sustainability and ecological thinking to your way of life.
If you want to learn how to make rice fertilizer for plants from rice water, don't go away and join us in this Green Ecologist article in which we talk about the benefits and how to prepare rice water for plants.
Is rice water good for watering plants?
Nobody wants to risk damaging their plants with a product that may not be beneficial, and the large number of rumors and myths that run popular in the world of gardening, many of them wrong and even dangerous for cultivation, make it very normal and healthy to distrust those miraculous solutions with which everyone seems to preach.
However, in this case we can say without fear that rice water for plants is not an unfounded rumor: its benefits are more than proven and they have no fault. Water your plants with rice water is an excellent way to fertilize them and give them an extra supply of nutrients, taking advantage of a product that you were going to throw away.
Benefits of rice water for plants
The benefits of rice water for plants are multiple.
- It is a liquid very rich in nutrients, which is a fertilizer of the first order for crops. Rice water is rich in proteins, fiber, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc and potassium, as well as a large amount of vitamins, all of which are very beneficial for the development of plants. It also contains NPK fertilizers to a lesser extent, which are the essential macronutrients that every plant needs to grow and be healthy. We recommend that you also read this other post on How to make homemade organic fertilizers.
- By using this product you contribute rice starch for plants. Starch is a sugar that plants synthesize through photosynthesis and that they store for when they need nutrients, so giving the plant an extra supply of this will make things much easier.
- In the same way, the carbohydrates that starch contains are a very valuable food for women. beneficial soil bacteria, which help to break down the organic matter it contains into elements that the roots of plants can assimilate.
- By keeping the plant strong and a healthy bacterial population, a much more environmentally friendly is also promoted. resistant to the appearance of pests, which will have less chance of imposing themselves on the crop.
How to prepare rice water for plants
There are several ways to use rice water to water and strengthen plants, although in all cases there is a very important point that should not be overlooked: do not add salt to the water to boil the rice if you are going to use the rice water for your plants. Salt is a very harmful element for most crops, which, added to irrigation water, would not only nullify the beneficial properties of rice water, but also seriously damage the health of your plants and the soil. You can add the salt later, directly on your already cooked rice to eat it, if you don't want to give up its water. Follow these tips for preparing rice water for plants:
- Boil the rice, but without added salt or oil or spices, and remove it when cooked to your liking, keeping the water apart.
- The important thing is to get a very well filtered rice water and free of impurities. You can strain it through a fine cloth strainer or sieve once the rice is boiled, so that you can use it for your plants.
- You should also keep in mind that you should allow the rice water to cool down to room temperature, as hot water could damage the plants.
- In the same way, if you let it sit too long, it will lose all its beneficial properties, so it is not useful for storage, you must use it the same day that you boil the rice.
- One of the ways to use rice water is spray it on your plants in the form of irrigation. For this, it is especially important that you have filtered it well so that it does not clog the sprayer. Dilute two parts of rice water in one part of water, add them to the sprayer, and you can spray the plants with it, both from above and on the underside of their leaves and the surface of the soil, preferably first or late in the day. , that does not give a strong sun.
- Another way to use rice water is by the method of bottom irrigation or immersion irrigation, which prevents plants that do not tolerate humidity in their aerial part from suffering. Place the pot in a larger container, to which you've added enough rice water so that it is a few inches above the level of the pot's drainage holes. In this way, the water will penetrate below, being absorbed by the roots and the earth. After about 20 minutes, remove the pot, let it drain off any excess water, and return it to its usual location.
If you want to read more articles similar to Rice water for plants: benefits and how it is prepared, we recommend that you enter our category of Cultivation and care of plants.
